Monster Hunters And Trappers
by ProwlaWilds
Summary: The ghouls and mansters of Monster High are in for one of the scariest adventures of their unlives when a professional society of monster hunters called MHAT enters their world. Will some of them get captured? Find out how these monsters fight to survive.
1. Chapter 1

MHAT

This ghoulish pair was quite the sight, and in a world full of monsters, it was quite hard to stand out, but they did. They walked side by side through the local mall. One of them was taller with hair as black as pitch glittering with streaks of gold and strands of turquoise. She walked elegantly, like the Egyptian princess she was. The other ghoul was slower and hunched over. Her skin was a cold, lifeless grey, but her silky hair was a shimmering ocean blue. She was a zombie, but one of the more stylish ones. They had been friends for a very long time. They rarely spent time apart.

Their friendship was built on reciprocity and fashion. Ghoulia, the zombie, had the brains while Cleo, the mummy, had the confidence and the articulation skills. Together, they were a pretty unstoppable pair with killer style. They were out shopping for outfits to wear to the big dance at their high school. Ghoulia was on her iCoffin calculating the best colors to wear to the dance while Cleo was blathering about how she needed to wow the others.

"It needs to have gold, obviously, but it needs to sparkle…like me." Cleo walked over to her favorite store window.

"Mmmmuhhhmmm…" Ghoulia replied. Being a zombie, she was unable to move her tongue quickly enough to form words. The zombies had created their own language instead. To the average ear it was a series of moans, but many monsters understood the zombie language fairly easily. However, not many could speak it.

Cleo nodded. "You're right Ghoulia! Maybe some sequins at the top with a turquoise belt to balance it out."

She eyed a decorative turquoise belt in the window. Just as she placed her palm against the window, it shattered with and explosive burst sending Cleo and Ghoulia flying back against the railings across the hall. Glass shards cut both the ghouls in several places, but none of the injuries were serious. When Cleo was able to open her eyes, she saw glass, clothing scraps, and bits of structural debris. Then her hearing came back and she was startled by the screams of other monsters throughout the mall.

She quickly turned to see her dear friend Ghoulia still had her eyes closed. Cleo feared the worst. Gently, she tapped Ghoulia's shoulder. Ghoulia opened her big blue eyes. Cleo breathed a sigh of relief as she carefully removed the debris off her body and pulled out some glass shards from her skin. As she gradually rose from the ground, using the railings to steady herself, she saw someone running toward them. With all the screaming, she thought it was simply another panicked monster. It was a monster all right, but not the kind she hoped would be running to their rescue.

"Ghoulia! You have to get up. They're attacking the mall!" Cleo screamed. Her heart was racing and her mind was in hyper drive. She was recalling information she had never needed until now. The monster she saw running toward them was easily recognizable in his orange camouflage uniform, his black barrette and backpack gun. He was a human, part of the organization of monster hunters known as MHAT or Monster Hunters And Trappers. She had never seen a MHAT soldier in person before…thank goodness, but they had had plenty of education about them at home and in school. She remembered some MHAT soldiers had attacked Boo York a few years ago, but were defeated by the ARM or Army of Robots and Monsters.

The MHAT soldier was getting closer and closer, but Ghoulia was moving very slowly. Cleo reached down and pulled Ghoulia up off the floor. The two ghouls began running away from the soldier. Ghoulia was moving slower than Cleo, but they still had quite some distance on him. Where would they go? When Cleo looked down she could see other monsters being chased by MHAT soldiers. She wondered what their chances were to escape. As they kept running, Cleo kept looking back to make sure Ghoulia was keeping up and that the soldier wasn't. But in that moment of looking back, Cleo missed the net flying directly at them.

The net was weighted and electrified. With a sudden shock, the net took down Cleo and Ghoulia. They screamed each time the net jolted.

"Leave us alone! You are the monAHHH!" Cleo shrieked in pain as the net shocked them once more.

Two soldiers approached the net. Cleo could see them both staring down at her and Ghoulia. The one who had been chasing them said something into a watch around his wrist, but Cleo couldn't make it out. That's when Cleo noticed her body was turning to sand. She had no idea what was happening! "Ghoulia!" She shouted. All she could do in that moment is worry for her friend. If she for some reason was turning to sand, maybe as a mummy defense, she worried about what they would do to her best friend. Then her vision went black. Had she turned into sand? Was she just a pile of sand on the tile floor of the mall?

When her vision returned, she was herself again lying on the chaise lounge in her own living room. Her father was looking over her.

"What happened?" Cleo exclaimed.

"There was an attack at the mall. I used an ancient amulet to have the ones I love return to me." Her father explained. "I am worried, though, your sister has not returned."

"Nefera! No, daddy…Ghoulia too. She was trapped. We were both trapped, but now I'm here! And she might be…" Cleo cried, tears streaming down her flawless face. She couldn't believe that in one evening she may have lost both her best friend and her sister.

 **Chapter 1**

I woke up early. My heart was fluttering. Even though we had been dating for weeks, I still could hardly wait to see him each day in school. I thought I had to be the luckiest ghoul in school. He was tall, athletic, and had a light blue furry body. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend. I had to thank Toralei too. She introduced me to him when I first started at Monster High, and we hit it off right away! Of course I am talking about the dashingly handsome Pawl Pounces, werecat of my dreams!

I took a shower, styled my hair, did my make up, and brushed my fur. I put on one of my most purrfect outfits and ran down the stairs passed my mother who was watching TV. As I headed out the door, my mom shouted something to me, but Pawl was already waiting in his car, so naturally I didn't rush back inside to ask her what she said.

"Hi Pawl." I smiled as I hopped into his car. I stared at his big beautiful yellow-brown eyes.

"Hey kitten," he leaned over and kissed my cheek. It still gave me the tingles all over when he did that. "Did you hear about something happening at the mall yesterday?"

"No. Maybe that was what my mom was trying to tell me when I ran out. What happened?" I asked.

Pawl began driving to Monster High. "I guess it was attacked and pretty much destroyed."

"What?" I gasped. I couldn't believe it. Who would do that? At first I thought it could have been a monster that couldn't control their gifts. Many monsters had some special abilities, and sometimes they weren't always easy to control.

"They're saying it was the MHAT soldiers." Said Pawl.

"The who now?"

"Remember those professional monster hunters we always hear about? The ones that attacked Boo York a few years ago?" He hinted.

"Right. The men in the orange uniforms?" I questioned.

"Yes. They're professional monster hunters from the human world. I guess they captured a lot of innocent monsters at the mall. Scary, right?"

I couldn't believe what Pawl was saying. It seemed unreal! We never felt unsafe around here. The only famous thing in this town was Monster High and that was mostly among the people already living here. What purpose would it serve these monster hunters to take peaceful monsters from the monster world? We haven't caused any problems in the human world for generations.

Walking into Monster High, it was clear that the atmosphere was not the same. Normally all the ghouls and mansters were at their lockers talking before the first bell. Today they were fairly quiet and huddled in whispering groups. Pawl and I looked at each other. I think we both felt the heaviness in the air. We decided to walk over to Toralei, Purrsephone and Meowlody.

"I guess everyone is a little shaken up, huh?" I whispered.

"It's scary. We almost went to the mall yesterday." Toralei said. Purrsephone and Meowlody nodded solemnly.

Then, down the hall we heard cries and sobbing. The five of us ran over. It was Cleo de Nile. She was crying hysterically on her knees. Her boyfriend Deuce was rubbing her shoulders. All her friends were also crying. I noticed them all sniffling and tears falling down their faces.

"What's going on?" I asked my ghost friend Spectra who knew all the best gossip. I noticed she had misty eyes too.

"Ghoulia Yelps was taken by the monster hunters." She sniffled.

We all gasped! We knew Ghoulia Yelps, the zombie. She was one of the nicest ghouls at Monster High. She was always willing to help with homework. I had one class with her. Toralei knelt down near Cleo. I was shocked because they did not always see eye to eye, but this went well beyond petty squabbles.

"Cleo, I'm so sorry. I'll help you any way I can." Toralei shed a tear. That ghoul never cried.

"Thank you, Toralei." Cleo wiped away her tears smudging her mascara. "I have to tell you…" she sniffed. "They may have taken Nefera too."

"What!" Toralei growled. "Oh. Cleo. This calls for payback!" She swung her fist in the air.

"They took Nefera too?" Cleo's cute little vampire friend Draculaura gasped. "Toralei is right. You know how I feel about revenge, but we cannot let this happen."

"Attention all students of Monster High. Report to the screamatorium immediately. Do not dawdle because some rooms and hallways will be locked down without hesitation in the next fifteen minutes." Headmistress Bloodgood announced over the intercom.

"That's probably about the attack." Clawdeen suggested.

Deuce helped Cleo off the floor and we all headed to the screamatorium. I felt Pawl grab my paw. I held his tightly too. This was getting scary. It was too close to home. When we entered the screamatorium, there were already a bunch of students sitting in the seats. Some of them crying, some of them looking around nervously. When Cleo walked in, many of them got up and hugged her saying things like "sorry" and "let me know how I can help."

Pawl and I sat with Toralei and the werecat pride in our usual seats two rows behind Cleo and her friends. There were a lot of werecats at Monster High. We weren't all best friends, but we were pretty close. Pawl was to my right, but one of my absolute best friends, Catrine, was to my left.

"Do you have any idea what is going on?" Catrine whispered in her sweet scarisian accent.

"Did you hear about the attack at the mall?"

"No, I did not." She shook her head.

"I guess monster hunters attacked the mall and captured some monsters, including Ghoulia Yelps and Cleo's sister Nefera." I explained in a hushed voice.

"Sacre boo!" She covered her mouth in shock.

"Attention students," Headmistress Bloodgood took the stage and tapped the microphone. "As many of you are aware, the New Salem mall was attacked yesterday by a skilled group of aggressive monster hunters. To add to the terrible news, several of our current and former students, their family members, and our dear friends have been captured. This attack was carried out by a professional society of monster hunters known as the Monster Hunters And Trappers. We call them MHAT. They are typically outfitted in orange camouflage with black hats. They are highly dangerous and possess harmful and sometimes deadly weapons. With that said, I would like to present General Grime De Sludge leader of the ARM troops." Headmistress Bloodgood sat on a chair that had been placed on the stage.

From behind the curtain came a behemoth of a monster. He had slimy purple skin that seemed to be oozing and dripping. Despite his grotesque appearance he seemed sturdy and confident.

"Good Morning Monster High students. I am General Grime. I am the leader of the Army of Robots and Monsters in this area. I want you all to be aware of a few things. Number one, last night, after the attack, troops came to Monster High with demon dogs and searched every inch of this place, including the catacombs. From that search we yielded two important facts. There is a passageway from the human world to the monster world within the catacombs directly under Monster High."

Everyone in the audience was shocked, even Bloodgood's head popped off her shoulders in surprise.

"Not to fear. We believe that is how the MHAT men first entered our world, but we believe they've found another more convenient way of traveling from their world to ours. With that said, we currently have a trap set up at the passageway in the catacombs as well as an entire brigade of ARM guards and demon dogs watching nonstop. Because of the structure of Monster High and its location, we believe this is the best shelter for the students of New Salem. We are instructing all students to remain inside the halls of Monster High until otherwise notified. Your teachers, and your parents who live locally have agreed to supervise you and provide you with necessities. We have guards stationed at every door and passageway of the school. Do not be alarmed. We do this as a safety precaution. Finally, if you have lost someone in the attack yesterday, rest assured that our robot intelligence tells us that all captured monsters are alive and in a heavily guarded fortress. We are working on freeing them." General Grime quickly walked off stage and disappeared behind the curtain as chatter erupted.

"All students are to collect their necessities from their lockers if they are able to, and then report to the dorm tower for room assignments." Bloodgood announced on the microphone. "If you are currently a resident student, you will find your rooms may have one or two extra beds. Please make your new roommates feel welcome. Be safe. I will be in the south tower with the other teachers if you need us." She put the microphone down and left.

We all got out of our seats and headed to our lockers. Unfortunately, my locker was inaccessible. They closed off and locked down the hallway where my locker was. With a sigh, Pawl and I followed Toralei to the dorm tower. I had only been there once before to visit Toralei, so I had forgotten how to get there. I remembered it was a pretty fun place with a game room and a café. Although, I was sure no one would be in the mood for games.

"How can they say we're safe when the passageway is in the catacombs right under the school?" Cleo shouted. Her anger made sense. Her fear made even more sense.

"He said there are guards there and all around the school." Frankie Stein said. She was one of the kindest ghouls at Monster High. She was a cheerleader, and she was the founder of the welcome wagon at Monster High. The welcome wagon greeted new students, brought them on a tour of the school, signed them up for the sport or club of their choice, and hooked them up with a mentor.

"Yeah, Cleo, didn't you see that big mean werewolf guard?" Draculaura pointed back at the very muscular werewolf who happened to be growling right behind me. I was guessing he wasn't fond of babysitting a bunch of high school teenagers. That was probably not in his job description.

"Cleo, I'm sure we're here because it really is safer than anywhere else right now." Lagoona Blue chimed in. I recognized her accent.

"I'm sure you're all right." She shook her head. "I just keep seeing what happened to Ghoulia in my head. I'm afraid for her, and I'm afraid for us."

"Make sense to be scared." A thickly accented voice spoke. "We trapped here, so if we need run, we cannot. But we together, and together we make best team." It was Abbey Bominable who spoke up. She was always straightforward. You had to love it.

"I say we sneak out and save Ghoulia and Nefera ourselves. We'd just need to find out where they are…" Toralei suggested. She always seemed to be up to no good.

"First, Toralei, how do you think we're going to find out where they are…ask General Grime? I don't think he's just going to fill us in. And second, they said it was heavily guarded. Even if all of us went, we don't know what tricks and traps these guys have up their sleeves." Clawdeen barked.

"Clawdeen's right, Cleo. Normally, I'd be down to stone cold stare down these creeps, but I wouldn't want to risk anyone else being caught." Deuce said.

Many of us wandered into the game room. It was large and had lots of couches and sitting space. It was an interesting collection of ghouls and mansters. We weren't all best friends, but we all knew each other some way or another. Mostly, at this moment, we all hoped for some way to save our friends. On the largest couch sat Cleo, Deuce, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Frankie, Lagoona, Gil Webber, Abbey, and Heath Burns. Hovering next to them was Spectra, Porter, and Kiyomi, three ghost friends. Sitting on the couch across from mine was Robecca, Venus, Rochelle, Garrott, Operetta, Johnny Spirit, Scarah, Invisi Billy, and Honey Swamp. Sitting next to me on the sectional sofa was obviously Pawl, Catrine, Toralei, Purrsephone, Meowlody, Catty Noir, Iris, Manny Taur, and Amanita. Finally, along the large fireplace hearth sat Neighthan, Sirena, Bonita, Avea, Jinafire, Skelita, Isi, Elissabat, Battly Cooper, Gigi, Jane, Lorna, Twyla, Howleen, Viperine and Posea. Just as we settled down, four more mansters came to join, but they were out of breath.

"Where were you Clawd?" Draculaura asked. Clawd was Draculaura's boyfriend and brother of Clawdeen and Howleen. He played casketball with Pawl.

"Dude, we snuck behind the curtain!" Finnegan exclaimed. Finnegan was an adventure crazed merman.

"Are you crazy?" Clawdeen shouted.

"No. But _we_ are if we do nothing, Clawdeen." Clawd told his sister.

"They have more than just your sister." Jackson Jekyll said.

"I know," said Cleo. "They have our Ghoulia too." She sobbed.

"No…I meant…" Jackson was interrupted.

"Clawdeen, Howleen… they have Clawdia." Clawd faltered.

Both of his younger sisters jumped to their feet. "How do you know that for sure?" Clawdeen demanded. She needed to know about her big sister.

"We heard them talking about it." Clawd pursed his lips.

"Dude, they have a ton of monsters, but they're not lying. They confirmed that they're all still alive." Finnegan said.

"Duuuuug…" SloMo moaned and held up his iCoffin.

"That's right. I almost forgot! Ghoulia managed to sneak her iCoffin in. It's not working completely, but she's been able to send texts to SloMo.

Cleo jumped up and embraced SloMo in a hug. Something she would probably never do under normal circumstances, but this revelation called for a hug. It also made the proposition of rescuing Ghoulia, Nefera, and now Clawdia all the more realistic.

"I think we might be able to help too." An unfamiliar voice emerged from the doorway. There stood four ghouls. One was a pink and frosty slime ghoul. Another was a well-wrapped mummy ghoul. The third was a scaly green gorgon with dark shades, and next to her was an icy blue frost creature. "My name is Sammy De Sludge, and I might know a thing or two that could help you and your friends."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Sammy De Sludge…as in General…?" Clawdeen inquired with a raise of her brow.

"That's right," the sparkly pink girl nodded. "I'm his daughter. He isn't lying to you. Monster High is the safest place we can be right now. That's why we're here too. We are all daughters of the soldiers that are now stationed here in New Salem."

"My name is Annie Conda." The gorgon girl smiled. The dozen or so green snakes that made up her ponytail flipped themselves. "Deuce and Viperine are actually my cousins." At that, Deuce and Viperine got up and hugged their cousin who they hadn't seen in a very long time. They must not have noticed her standing there before, neither did I, but she's not my cousin.

"Yo, Annie, long time no see!" Deuce said. Annie was closer to his age than Viperine, so I'm sure he remembered hanging out with Annie a lot more when they were younger. They seemed to hug each other very firmly.

"My cousin!" Viperine smiled. "You look beautiful as ever!"

"Thank you. I know the circumstances aren't great, but when mother told me we would be coming to New Salem, I was so happy. I missed you both so much!" Annie beamed.

"Speaking of relatives…" The mummy ghoul stepped out from the hug fest. "Cleo, it's me. Your cousin, Hera Glyphyx." She had the most stunning purple hair. It looked as if it were made of silk. Looking at it caused me to touch my own purple locks and wonder if my hair could look just as good if I grew it out.

"Oh, Hera, darling, did you hear about Nefera?" Cleo waved Hera over patting the bit of space on the couch next to her.

"I did. That's why my daddy decided to come here. Your daddy called him. You must be a wreck." The two ghouls hugged, careful not to ruin any make up they had applied.

Deuce sat back down next to Cleo, and Viperine and Annie went and sat back near the hearth. Clawdeen and Howleen returned to their seats as well. Clawd sat on the arm of the couch near Draculaura. Only one of the new ghouls was left to introduce herself. She looked like a sea creature, but parts of her looked like solid ice. Maybe she was a hybrid monster, a cross between two species?

"Hi, my name is Gail Glacier. My father is a colonel. I'm from Screamland." She sort of waved, and then she quickly slunk behind Sammy.

"So, Sammy, what is it that you know that can help us?" Cleo asked.

"I know where the MHAT soldiers are keeping your friends and family." Sammy said confidently.

"Is that true?" Cleo turned to her cousin Hera to confirm.

Hera nodded.

"I know you are ze daughter of ze general and all, but how is it you have sis information?" Rochelle Goyle asked. She was a ghoul of rules, and I think everyone was a little nervous that she might protest to breaking them.

"I heard my father last night talking to his troops. When we first got here, we were sharing a room, so I heard everything he was saying in great detail." Sammy replied.

"Who's up for a rescue mission?" Toralei shouted. Licking her paw with confidence. She had a kind of dumb confidence. Consequences were foreign to her.

"Chill out mate, its not that easy. We don't want to just show up without a plan. Unless you want us all to get caught?" Lagoona calmed the situation. She had seen what monsters could get like when they wanted revenge.

"I agree y'all. Let's sit here and make a plan. We should be strategic." Operetta spoke up. She was normally a pretty quiet ghoul, but always down for adventure.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Frankie sparked from the bolts on her mint green neck. "Sammy hasn't even told us where this place is or how it's guarded. That might be a good place to start."

I nodded in agreement along with many of the other monsters in the room. We wanted to save our friends, but that wasn't worth risking more of us getting captured.

"I know where they are, but freeing your friends might be a problem. They took all the monsters they captured to Scare Block 5." Sammy bit her nails immediately after announcing the news. There seemed to be a collective gasp. I grabbed for Pawl. Just hearing the name of that place sent shivers down my spine and through my tail. Pawl rubbed my arm gently.

"You can't be serious!" Cleo exclaimed.

"Umm…what is Scare Block 5?" Frankie interjected.

"Yes. Please make clear for us. What is this Scary Block 5?" Abbey added.

"It seems that many of our friends are not familiar with it." Scarah Screams shared. She was a telepathic banshee. She probably picked up on the thoughts of all the students who were confused.

"I'll tell you what that place is…it's a death sentence!" Deuce blurted. "That is the maximum security prison of prisons. Monsters…I mean real monsters go there. They're sent there for horrific crimes against monsters and humans. I heard there are even some humans there!"

"I went there once." Jackson spoke up. "I went there to visit my uncle Jason because…" He scratched his head. "It's a scary place. The prisoners aren't just behind metal bars. They're behind layers of concrete and steel doors with entrapment hexes and electrified force fields. It's almost impossible for prisoners to escape from there."

"It may be impossible to escape, but have they ever tried breaking in?" Porter Geiss, a new ghost student excitedly shared. "I bet there is a way to get into the prison unnoticed."

"Like ok…break in, then what? It's not like we have the magic key to break them out…like duh." Amanita Nightshade scoffed. I was actually surprised she was participating in the discussion since she was well known to be selfish.

"Although it could have been said with a bit more tact, I would have to agree with Amanita. We may be able to break in, but how will we free our friends?" Robecca Steam, the bronze robot pondered.

"Then it sounds like tonight is a scouting and intel mission only," said Clawd. "We just need to check out the place and get a better idea about what we're dealing with."

"Yeah, we need the fastest and sneakiest monsters to go out tonight and bring back information." Howleen said nudging her best friend, Twyla. She knew Twyla was the sneakiest ghoul she knew.

"This shouldn't be exciting Howleen." Clawdeen stared down her little sister. "This is serious and dangerous."

"I know that!" Howleen crossed her arms and huffed.

"Well I think it makes sense for the werecats and werewolves to go, since we're the fastest." Toralei suggested. Did she just volunteer me?

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Toralei. It makes sense to have the werewolves and werecats go tonight. I think some of us would just be a liability if we went out there." Cleo held the hands of Frankie, Draculaura, and Abbey. She knew they would want to do something just as bad as her, but it didn't make sense. That touching gesture lit the fire I needed.

"I agree to go with Toralei." I said. Pawl looked at me with wide eyes. Was he shocked I volunteered?

"Then I will go too," said Pawl.

"We'll go too." Purrsephone and Meowlody purred.

"I am willing to go." Catrine put her arm around my shoulder.

"Me too." Catty said.

"Thank you all." Cleo smiled.

"Don't thank us. This is Monster High, and I've learned we stick by each other no matter what!" I said.

"The werewolves are in too." Howleen said.

"Howleen, you should stay." Clawd insisted.

"No! Clawdia is my sister too. I'm not just going to sit around when my sister could be in trouble." Howleen barked.

"Alright…calm down. The werewolves are in." Clawdeen confirmed.

"I think we must play a part too." Spectra spoke up. "Me, Porter, and Kiyomi can give you some ghost support." Porter and Kiyomi nodded as if to agree.

"Me too!" Said Sirena Von Boo. She was a ghost mermaid, and although she could be a bit distracted at times, her heart was always in the right place.

"I think our skills may come in handy as well." Scarah and Billy both held up their hands to volunteer. It made sense. Invisi Billy could turn invisible, and Scarah was telepathic. Those were two very sensible skills to have on a scouting mission.

"So it looks like we have our scouting team." Cleo announced. "What should the rest of us do?"

"Maybe we keep in good touch with Ghoulia to find out how to save her." Abbey suggested. "Maybe she learned a thing or two about computer systems there."

"Mostly, our job will be to pretend like everything is normal, so my father and his monsters don't suspect a thing." Sammy smiled. "I know it might be difficult, but just do whatever it is that you guys would do if this wasn't happening tonight."

"Have you done this before?" Venus McFlytrap raised her hand to ask. "You just seem to know what to do."

"N…no…I've never done this before." She bit her nails. Looking over at Gail, I saw her leg fidgeting as Sammy answered the question. Had they actually done something like this before? I saw Venus, Robecca, and Rochelle all whispering something to each other as well.

"Well…time to get dressed ghouls. I'm thinking black on black? It'll be dark soon, and we don't want to be seen, do we?" Toralei got up from the couch. She was right. I couldn't wear my skirt and platform heels on a dangerous mission. Toralei, Purrsephone, Meowlody, Catrine, and Catty all got up and headed for the dorm rooms. I was en route to follow them, but then Pawl pulled me aside.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Pawl asked, concerned. He grabbed both my arms and held me close.

"I'm scared…that's true, but I just know if it were me that had been captured and trapped, I would take comfort in knowing my friends would try their best to rescue me. I can't imagine how Ghoulia or the other monsters are feeling, but I also can't sit by and just think about it." I let my feelings flow out.

"I just…I just would never forgive myself if something happened to you." He kissed my forehead.

"The feeling is mutual." I blushed.

After we changed into some spy gear, we gathered in the café. My nerves were clawing at me. Luckily, Pawl was there, right by my side. Clawd, Toralei, Clawdeen, and Billy took on the roll of group leaders. We were such a big group; we decided it would be smart to break up into four smaller groups with some kind of equal distribution. Pawl and I were on Billy's team along with Howleen and Kiyomi. Toralei had of course recruited Purrsephone and Meowlody, but Porter and Spectra also joined her. Clawdeen was in command of Catty, Sirena, and Scarah. Clawd was with Twyla and Catrine.

Spectra had found a map of New Salem and placed it at the center of one of the larger tables in the café. We all huddled around as Clawd used the map to explain the plan. It was actually a little terrifying how close the Scare Block 5 was to Monster High.

"We're all going to go through the woods here." He pointed to a patch of green on the map. We followed his fingers until they reached a dotted black line. "This is the wall surrounding Scare Block 5. Before we reach the actual wall, we are going to split up. My team will access the wall head on. Clawdeen and Toralei, your teams will go right. Billy, your team will go left."

"What do want us to do?" Toralei asked.

"You're a werecat. Climb the wall. See how close you can get without being caught. Our goal is to find out if this place has any weak spots." I had never seen Clawd so serious. "If at any point you feel like you've been spotted, run."

"Everyone keep their phones on them. We need to be in communication." Clawdeen said. I pulled out my phone to make sure it was on and charged.

"Are you guys ready?" Billy turned to Pawl, Howleen, Kiyomi, and me. His question caused my heart to race. I pictured running through the dark woods. I hoped Pawl would be at my side the whole time.

"I'm ready to save my sista!" Howleen exclaimed. I was astonished by her lack of fear. I admired it, but also wondered if it was naïve.

"Prowla and I are good to go. I just hope you all can keep up." Pawl smirked. I knew his joking was really his expression of nervousness. Toralei led us all down a crawl space that connected with some blocked off tunnels of the catacombs leading right to a manhole on the road in front of Monster High. We all hoped that the tunnel was still a secret.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We had no choice, but to leave the game room. The secret passage was actually accessible through a crawl space located in the ghoul's bathroom. That meant we had to pass the husky werewolf guard posted at the doors of the game room. We planned to do this as inconspicuously as possible. First, Toralei's team headed to the bathroom. They carried toothbrushes and toiletry bags to make it believable. Five minutes passed and then Clawdeen's group headed out, then it was our turn. My claws were so sweaty. Since all my stuff was in my locker, Catrine handed me a towel to throw over my shoulder and a bottle of fur spray. I felt so stupid. If the guard paid close enough attention, then he should be wondering why I was going to apply fur spray at night.

Billy and Pawl opened the door for us. The goliath brown werewolf had his huge arms crossed over his boulder chest. He was staring us down with the most fearsome fangs protruding from his jowls. I could have sworn he grunted as we passed by. I'm sure protecting teenagers was not his number one job choice. I tried not to look at him, but it was rather difficult to ignore the massive manster.

Luckily, to get to both the manster and ghoul bathrooms we had to turn the same corner, so the guard didn't see us all going into the ghoul's room. When we got inside, we saw Scarah kneeling on the floor under a sink. Her vacant white eyes staring at us with a nervous smile. She was holding the hatch door. I guessed she offered to stay behind just to see Billy before entering the dark tunnels. Once we got closer, Billy kissed her on the cheek and she jumped into the crawl space.

There was no light coming from that hole in the ghoul's room floor. I was glad to be gifted with excellent night vision, but darkness was still darkness. I hopped down the hole and landed pretty gracefully on my feet. Pawl jumped in right behind me. We all gathered at the threshold of the tunnel. We waited for Clawd who agreed to take the rear through the tunnels. Once he got down and closed the hatch, we walked swiftly through the tunnels. My nerves were really kicking into high gear. I trusted all the monsters I was with, but I was scared for all of us. How could we possibly believe we could be a match for those MHAT men?

Just when my thoughts were getting the best of me, Catrine caught up alongside me. "Sis is exciting, no?"

"Yeah, exciting, but super scary!" I admitted.

"Zoo not worry. We will stick sugether!" Catrine said with her adorable accent.

"Remember, this is a scouting mission only." Clawd put his hand on my shoulder. "Plus, I know Pawl would never let anything happen to you. He is _the_ manster!" Clawd patted Pawl's back.

"I know he wouldn't." I smiled at my big strong boyfriend.

"Touching moment in tunnels. This is going on the ghostly gossip for sure!" Spectra said as she floated silently above us with Porter by her side.

We slowed down when we started see some light. Clawdeen confirmed it was moonlight. We were getting closer to our true mission. It was getting real. Clawd, Pawl, and Billy worked together to push the wall blocking the exit.

"Okay," Clawdeen began. "When we get out there, we run. Run…" she looked up at Spectra, "…or fly as fast as you can. Stick with your teams and then remember to split up and cover your locations."

"Remember, keep your phones on. We don't want anyone lost." Clawd added.

"Just try to keep up with me, okay?" Toralei said, mostly to Spectra and Porter. They just looked at each other and laughed. Who was she kidding thinking she'd be faster than ghosts?

"Let's go!" Clawd said. He was now leading the group. He dashed out of the tunnel as quick as I'd ever seen him before. His teammates followed. Each person ran out just behind the other. My heart was about ready to beat a hole right through my chest. Then Pawl reached for my hand.

"We can do this, kitten." He whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The darkness and tranquility of the forest was eerie at best. I considered myself an indoor werecat, so the woods just weren't for me, but running and bounding through the dense brush was sort of thrilling. I moved my body in ways I rarely had as the blood swept through every muscle and fiber. Pawl dashed right along with me. I couldn't believe the excitement of it all. We jumped over rocks and thickets grabbing onto trees and swinging around the branches. I felt like one of my fearsome ancestors.

I was fascinated with all of us. I watched Clawd maneuver through the forest as if he were a shark on the attack. Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody were swinging from branches as elegantly as gymnasts. Spectra, Kiyomi, and Porter soared right through tree trunks at high speeds. I had no idea ghosts could move so swiftly and with such direction. Poor Scarah could not keep the pace, and it was hard to tell how well Billy was keeping up since he kept going invisible.

As we got closer, Clawd and Clawdeen signaled for us to slow down. Clawd motioned to the teams to start going in different directions. At that point, Billy reappeared. Billy had us huddle up before getting any closer. We were the team that had to investigate the area of Scare Block 5 closest to Monster High. The adrenaline was pumping. My nervousness and excitement were getting all jumbled up inside.

"Okay. Remember, we have to stay together. Only go ahead if you are told to go ahead." Billy was prepping all of us, but his eyes kept falling on Howleen. "Kiyomi, you'll be our eyes in the air. You'll be the first one to head in that direction." Billy pointed in the direction of the notorious prison.

"Yes. I will rattle my chains if I see anything dangerous." Kiyomi slightly shook the pink accessory chains hanging from her belt to demonstrate.

"Good idea." Billy nodded. "I'm going to go ahead. Since I'm invisible, it's best I take the lead. I'll make my face appear as a signal saying it's safe to move on."

"What are we supposed to expect?" Howleen asked.

"I'm thinking some kind of massive wall." Pawl suggested.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but I mean are there gonna be men guarding the wall? Will there be traps?" Howleen clarified.

"Howleen, none of us really know. That's why we have to be especially careful." I said.

"And we know you have a reputation for not always being careful." Billy snickered and we all laughed nervously. Howleen grumbled a bit, but then she giggled.

"Alright, are we ready?" Howleen asked.

"Stay close and watch or listen for signals." Billy said looking at Kiyomi.

Kiyomi's normally blue translucent skin turned pink then green as she floated higher into the sky. Her body showed the emotion that was sometimes difficult to see on her almost nonexistent face. Like a set of dominoes, Billy soon disappeared before our eyes. Luckily, werecat and werewolf hearing was excellent, so we were able to hear his footsteps as he began walking in the same direction as Kiyomi. All I could wonder about is what we would encounter and how the others were doing.

Pawl and I stepped carefully in the same direction as Kiyomi and Billy. Every step we took, snapping branches and crunching leaves, sounded louder and louder as we drew closer to our destination. In the distance, we could see searchlights scanning the area. They must have been from Scare Block 5. We tried our best to stay under the cover of the trees as long as possible, but a clearing was coming up fast.

Billy's head appeared at the tree line. That meant he wanted us to move closer. I listened for Kiyomi's chains, but could not hear them. Pawl and Howleen were already stepping closer to the opening. I followed. Even though it was dark, I could see a large stonewall ahead. While the wall's look was not nearly as intimidating as Monster High, I still felt something was bound to go wrong. Monsters were definitely inside, and not the friendly ones that could be found at Monster High.

When we got to the clearing, the wall was highly visible. It was tall, maybe three or four stories. There were openings in the walls, so it must have been thick enough for monsters and men to walk around inside. My fur stood on end when my mind wondered what kind of weapons they might stick out those openings. That had to be what they were for. I watched the openings carefully. I didn't see or hear anything. I felt better believing that there were no people on the wall.

We crept around the opening and moved closer and closer toward the wall. Howleen and Pawl were still a few paces ahead of me. Billy was now fully visible. I had to concentrate and observe. I reminded myself that my job was to bring back information to the others. The wall was formidable. This was definitely a job for a bigger group. Would I report that there were no MHAT men guarding the wall? At least it seemed like there were none on this side of the wall.

We definitely needed to tell the others about the openings. Next time there could be men sticking weapons out of them. Even though there were searchlights, the closer to the wall we got, the darker it seemed. It didn't seem like a very intelligent design to me.

"It's quiet." Billy whispered to us.

"Too quiet." Pawl nodded.

"Do you all smell that?" Howleen sniffed the air with a smile.

"I smell something, but it doesn't smell good." I replied with a sniff.

"Yeah, but it's really strong." Pawl sniffed.

"I don't smell anything." Billy shrugged.

"No. It's comin' from hear!" Howleen said excitedly. She seemed to be salivating as she moved with haste along the edge of the wall. Where was she going?

Pawl and I chased after her. That ghoul seemed prone for trouble. She was clearly attracted to that awful odor. What was that smell anyway? It was familiarly unpleasant. Oh my ghoul…

"It's a trap!" I shrieked. "That's red meat!" Werewolves were famously attracted, no, addicted to red meat.

All at once, my ears twitched and we all paused at the sound of Kiyomi's chains. As we looked up to find Kiyomi, from my blind spot I saw movement on the wall. An orange sleeve popped out of one of the openings and tossed some sort of grenade at us. I looked around to warn the others, but I must have been the only one who saw the arm, or the last one to see the arm because Pawl continued chasing after Howleen, and Billy was following them. I picked up speed and ran with urgency. I didn't want to see what would happen to the grenade thing.

"They're all coming to the wall!" I heard Kiyomi shouting from the air. "Get away from the wall!"

Howleen kept running right along the edge of the wall. "I can't. It's too good!" Howleen shouted as she licked her lips.

"Howleen, you have to stop!" Pawl yelled. "They're trying to trick you!"

"Think about your sister!" Billy reminded her. "You can't help her if you're in there with her!"

At this point we were all frantically chasing after Howleen. Pawl was getting closer to her. He reached one of his strong, blue furry arms out. He grabbed her. Both of them stopped running. She struggled and tried to pull away from him, but he wasn't letting her go. Howleen even howled and barked.

"Listen to me." Pawl said firmly. "We need to go! They will do anything to tra…" Pawl couldn't finish his sentence.

They must have been watching because just when he was talking some sense into Howleen, just as we were about to run away from the wall, a piercing screech came over a speaker system. The sound was unbearable, like drilling a hole through our ears right into our brains. Howleen, Pawl, and I fell to our knees with pain. I tried my best to block my ears, but it was useless. The pain paralyzed me.

I could see Billy was unaffected. He was still standing, not even touching his ears. It was like he couldn't even hear it. He was saying something, but it was nearly impossible for any of us to hear. He was flailing his arms, calling us over. I was trying to read his lips. Was he shouting our names? I desperately attempted to get to my feet. Somehow the pain made my legs weak, but I stood up and struggled toward him. Pawl and Howleen were managing to get up too.

That is when another grenade-like object dropped from the wall. When it hit the ground, a strange yellowish gas emerged. We didn't know what it was, but we all knew we should probably get away from it. But the gas was moving faster then us, and eventually it was upon us. I held my breath, and I could only hope that Pawl and Howleen were doing the same.

When the gas hit my body, I expected it to burn, but it didn't. It didn't seem to be doing anything, so I continued to hold my breath and kept struggling to get further from the wall. The gas around us had gotten so thick, I couldn't see Pawl or Howleen, and Billy was even starting to fade from sight. I just kept on moving my legs forward despite the painful noise and ominous gas.

Then, through the excruciating noise, I heard a thud. I thought at first it might have been Pawl, but it sounded like it was closer. It was becoming more and more difficult to hold my breath. The thought of breathing was scary, though. If I chose to take this stuff into my body, then I might be risking death.

"It's not for you!" I heard through the screeching. "It was for me!"

Through the gas, I saw a lump of purple, blue, and pink on the ground. It was Kiyomi. Her skin seemed dull and her chains looked unusually heavy. What had they done to her? I finally took a breath and uncovered my ears. The noise was deafening, but I couldn't leave Kiyomi there. She was right. The gas didn't seem to be having any immediate effect and it was beginning to clear away.

"Kiyomi, what happened?" I shouted…I think. It was hard to hear even my own voice.

"I …er….um…so….ju…." I know she was actually saying something, but I was practically deaf at that point.

Billy rushed over. "We need to go!" He lifted her up and carried her toward the woods. I was about to follow him, but then I remembered Pawl and Howleen were struggling too. Were they still holding their breath? I turned and saw the unthinkable. Howleen was on the ground. She was clawing at the dirt. She looked like she was in some sort of trap. Her leg was stuck on something, maybe a shackle attached to a chain. Pawl was struggling to help her, but I could see whatever had her was also slowly pulling her toward the wall.

I ran over to help. I extended my nails and slashed at the chain in full fury. I scratched it over and over, but it was far too thick. I thought it would likely take me at least a few minutes to break through the chain entirely. Meanwhile, Pawl was trying to help her wriggle out, but every time they made a little progress, the chain was pulled and Howleen would panic. I knew I just had to keep scratching. We just had to save that poor ghoul!

I felt tears falling down my face as I scratched and scratched. "We're going to save you!" I shouted, though I doubt she could hear me through the awful noise and her own crying.

And then a miracle, CLINK, I scratched through a link in the chain.

"Pull her, Pawl!" I screamed. "With all your strength!"

Pawl nodded. With his two massive arms, he grabbed Howleen from her waist. He squeezed her tight and pulled, digging his heels into the earth. The broken link needed to be stretched open in order to break the chain. I held Howleen's foot and pushed. Together, we stretched the link just enough to break the chain. As soon as it broke, Pawl tossed Howleen over his shoulder and ran toward the woods. I followed. We escaped! How were we going to explain all this to the others? How could we even consider coming back?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We felt defeated as we walked with sloped shoulders back through the tunnels to Monster High. Our ears were still ringing from that painful noise. Something was wrong with Kiyomi, and Billy was out of his mind with worry for Scarah. He kept mumbling about how he should have stayed with her. We were all a little worried when we noticed we were the first team to return. I was just thankful that our whole team had returned.

"Do you see that?" Billy whispered to us. He was still ahead of us.

"I do." I tried whispering, but with my slight loss of hearing, it was hard to tell if I really was whispering.

There was some sort of moving orb of light in the distance. We, of course, assumed it was one of the others flagging us down with a flashlight. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief. If they were here before us, then maybe they didn't get attacked like we did. Billy picked up his pace. He must have been hoping to see Scarah behind that light.

"We're back!" Billy shouted. He was still carrying Kiyomi who lifted her head out of the crevice of Billy's arms.

"Billy, no." Kiyomi said, but not in a worried tone, just in a very factual way. "It's not her."

"I'm so glad you are all safe." Said a voice we weren't expecting to hear. There stood the headless headmistress. Her dark purple eyes communicated warmth, worry, and anger all at once. "Now, do you mind telling us what you were thinking?"

Behind her stood the imposing purple general. He had a very stiff face for a man created from slime. He looked down on us with his arms crossed. I thought for sure he would berate us like he probably would one of his soldiers.

"How is she?" General De Sludge asked. He took Kiyomi from Billy's arms and handed her off to one of the other soldiers behind him. "It looks like she's inhaled some of the solidifying agent," he said as he handed her over.

"Roger, sir. We'll use the extraction pump A-Sap!" The soldier who took Kiyomi replied and then dashed off with her. We couldn't see where he went, but it didn't look like he climbed the ladder to the ghoul's room.

"Do you know how dangerous those men are?" The general once again turned his attention on us. "They have created machines, chemicals, and weapons all designed to target monsters. Your friend is lucky to be alive!" His voice grew louder. I knew his words were definitely making me feel awful. Howleen even whimpered.

"You are to report to your rooms. You may wash up, but then you are to stay put." Headmistress Bloodgood ordered.

"Don't worry. We stationed two more guards to monitor the dorms. Don't any of you think about leaving again!" The general warned.

We walked passed them with our heads hanging. We knew that what we did was dangerous before we did it, but now we knew how right they were about the danger. Kiyomi could have been in worse shape, and Howleen almost got captured. Pawl reached for my hand. I held his tight. We were so lucky to be back together. We both looked at Billy.

"She'll be okay." I said to him. I knew he must be sick with worry about Scarah.

"Thanks, Prowla, but you saw what happened out there. We're lucky. I just hope Scarah and the others are just as lucky. How could I have let this happen?" Billy shook his head.

"None of this is your fault, man." Pawl insisted.

Just as we were climbing up the ladder leading to the ghoul's bathroom, we heard moaning and panting. Some of the others were coming back. We jumped down off the ladder and headed back over to where the headmistress and the soldiers were standing.

"Reow! We need a medic!" Toralei was shouting. She was carrying someone in her arms.

"Us too! He needs help!" Purrsephone urged.

"He's too heavy for us!" Meowlody added.

It became clearer that Toralei was carrying Spectra while Purrsephone and Meowlody were working together to carry Porter. The same yellow gas that turned Kiyomi solid must have hit them. Spectra and Porter were handed off to two other soldiers and they rushed passed us through a tunnel we hadn't noticed before. At that, Toralei fell to her knees in hysterical tears and we heard the headmistress and the general lecturing them in a similar fashion to how they had lectured us.

"I'll never do it again. I swear!" I heard Toralei plead. "It was not fun."

"Now go back to the dorms. Wash up, and go straight to bed." We heard the headmistress repeat.

Toralei walked over to us, a changed ghoul. She did not look pleased with herself at all. For once she seemed unsatisfied with mischief and adventure.

"What happened to you?" I asked as gently as possible.

"Those nasty humans turned Spectra and Porter solid. Then they caught my best ghoul friends in a net. I almost…" Her voice cracked. "We almost lost each other." Toralei hugged Purrsephone and Meowlody. The three of them sobbed. I knew what they were feeling. When I saw Howleen being pulled away by that chain it was like I could see a part of me being taken away. Now I wondered how much worse I would have felt if it was Pawl who was being taken away from me. I rubbed Toralei's back.

"I'm so glad you ghouls are here now." Toralei pulled me into their hug and we all cried together.

"What's taking Clawd and Clawdeen so long?" Howleen anxiously paced the width of the tunnel.

"Don't worry, pup." Toralei said between sniffles. "I've had it out with your big sis before. She's a fighter. She's coming back."

"Yeah, your brother and sister are some of the fiercest monsters we know. They'll both be back before you know it." Pawl added.

"Thanks guys, but I'd feel much betta if they were hear." Howleen wrapped her arms around her body.

That's when we heard a voice like an angel. We were all thrilled to hear the voice, but not the words.

"They got 'em!" Clawdeen's voice blasted down the tunnels.

Billy was the first to truly understand what her words could mean. Scarah was on Clawdeen's team. He ran down the tunnel, turned invisible, and shoved passed the headmistress. He reappeared right in front of her flashlight and grabbed Clawdeen who was panting.

"Who do they have?" Billy asked. It was strange to hear the normally calm and collected Billy now almost crazed. We watched him as he shook Clawdeen for the answer.

"All of them." Clawdeen's voice cracked. We could hear her crying uncontrollably. Howleen rushed over to comfort her sister.

I squeezed Pawl in a hug and cried on his chest. What were we thinking? How could we risk our friends? Why didn't we see any of this coming?

"Relax. Miss Wolf, you have to calm down and share what you know. It's the only way we'll be able to retrieve your friends." We heard the general. His voice changed. He was sympathetic and patient with her.

"It was totally quiet," Clawdeen began. "We thought everything was safe. We thought maybe they were all inside. We didn't know. Sirena went ova the wall to take a closa look, but she neva came back. Catrine and I decided to climb the wall. We couldn't just leave Sirena…" Her voice trailed. "Then from outta no where these metal claws pop out of the wall grabbing Catrine…" She faltered. "I tried to save her, really, I did, but then I heard Scarah screaming at the bottom of the wall. Catrine told me to save Scarah. I didn't want to leave her, but we saw two of the men in orange chasin' after Scarah, so I jumped down from the wall and attacked one of the men. We fought for a while. He was puttin' up a good fight, but I knocked him out. Once I knew he wasn't a threat, I went to look for Scarah, but she was gone and so was the man in orange. I looked up at the wall to see how Catrine was doing, but she was gone too and all the claws were back inside the wall. I though I wouldn't be help to them if I got captured too, so I ran back here to get help."

Clawdeen's story was the worst of them all. I couldn't imagine feeling so helpless.

"Private," the general spoke to a vampire soldier. "Escort this young werewolf and the rest of the students to the dorms."

The vampire soldier nodded. "Yes, sir." He helped Clawdeen and Billy passed the other soldiers and walked in our direction. "Time to go. You all need to wash up and relax after such a difficult day."

"What about Clawd?" Clawdeen looked up.

"There were more of you?" The vampire soldier seemed surprised. He rushed over to the general. They had a brief interaction, and then he rushed back over. "We're sending out a search and rescue team in a few minutes. We'll get your brother, and hopefully the rest of the monsters that are trapped at Scare Block 5."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Walking through the doors of the game room was like trying to avoid a million ropes trying to trip you. Everyone was staring at the weary ghouls and mansters. Everyone in the room could sense something was wrong and eyes shifted throughout the members of the original scouting group. To many of the monsters, it was quite obvious that their friends were missing. Clawdeen locked eyes with Draculaura. Instantly, Clawdeen's eyes swelled with tears. She felt awful that her brother had been captured, and to make it worse, she had to break the news to her best friend and his girlfriend, Draculaura.

"What happened?" Draculaura and Cleo quickly approached the group of solemn monsters.

"Yes. You all look…not chill." Abbey and a few more friends came over.

"I'm sorry…" Clawdeen began, wiping tears from her eyes. "We totally misjudged their powa. They…they got Clawd." She broke down and embraced Draculaura. Cleo rubbed Clawdeen's back.

"They're gonna pay!" Deuce Gorgon shouted with fury. He couldn't imagine how some humans were able to capture his best friend and one of the most agile athletes he'd ever known. He was angry with himself. If only he were there…Maybe he could have done something?

"No." Billy shouted somewhat suddenly. "It won't matter. They have weapons designed for each one of us. They know our weaknesses…" Billy's voice trailed off. He couldn't stop thinking about Scarah.

"It's true." Pawl admitted. They had this high pitched siren that almost made us deaf, and they have some kind of gas that can turn the ghosts solid." At that, the remaining ghosts gasped.

"What about Sirena?" Avea Trotter demanded.

"We don't know." Pawl stared at the floor, refusing to look any monster in the eye. It was too hard. "Kiyomi, Spectra, and Porter are here. Apparently there is some kind of vaccine to counteract the gas, but Sirena may have been captured."

"How could you let this happen?" Avea trotted up to Pawl with haste.

"Back off." Toralei stepped up to Avea who was flanked by Neighthan and Bonita. "We all did the best we could. Be lucky any of us came back. All of us lost friends!"

Avea backed away feeling guilt. She understood. Her emotions were targeted at the wrong creature.

"Listen, we all tried our best. I can guarantee you that, but Sirena, Catrine, Scarah, Clawd, Catty, and Twyla are still missing." Pawl announced with a heavy heart.

"Then why are we all standing around here like locusts waiting for the next plague? We need to get out there and teach those humans a lesson!" Cleo commanded.

"Cleo, stop it." Clawdeen insisted. "I'm not gonna risk anyone else. Those humans are dangerous. Look how many of our friends they already captured or hurt."

"She's right, mate. We won't do your sister and Ghoulia any good if we're stuck there with them." Lagoona said as she stood by Cleo with Frankie.

"We are totes angry too, but we need another way." Frankie agreed.

"Uuuuugghh!" SloMo groaned from the periphery.

"That's right, love, SloMo has been in touch with Ghoulia this entire time." Lagoona reminded Cleo.

Many of the monsters headed over to hear what SloMo had to say.

"Why don't you all wash up and rest up? We can take it from here. We'll tell you all about it when you're done." Draculaura smiled. She knew she would only see Clawd again if they had a plan.

Clawdeen and most of the others nodded silently. "You will let me know if you hear anything about Clawd, right?"

"Of course!" Draculaura smiled.

"And Scarah?" Billy asked.

"You will know everything we do." Cleo insisted. "Now wash up, you smell like my daddy's old sarcophagus."

While the others washed up and rested, many of the monsters gathered around SloMo. Each time he moaned and groaned in the zombie language, Gil explained for any of the ghouls and mansters that weren't as quick to pick up.

"Uuugh Ahhh," moaned SloMo.

"Ghoulia has been giving us good information. She said that she knew when the others were at the wall because all the men rushed out pretty quickly." Gil explained.

"Mmmuuuuuuugghhh," SloMo smiled.

"Ghoulia told SloMo that there's a weakness in the wall she heard the men talking about. Apparently, the monsters that originally created Scare Block 5 made a tunnel that goes beneath the wall. The men know there is a tunnel, but the maps weren't kept at the prison, so they don't know exactly where. They were kept with the original headmonster of Monster High!" Gil ended excitedly. Many of the students gasped with excitement. This revelation could mean success.

"Why would they leave that here?" Frankie asked. "I mean, it sounds weird that they connected a prison with a school, but leaving the map here is even weirder."

"Uuughhh," SloMo moaned.

"Oh, I see, the tunnels into Scare Block 5 have always connected to Monster High since when they were both being constructed…What!?" Gil was taken by surprise.

"Do you think the army monsters know that?" Draculaura wondered. "If they do, then this plan will not work, unless it works for them."

"Yeah, for all we know, they could already have that map." Operetta suggested.

"Do you think they saying Monster High is safe if they knowing this?" Abbey questioned. "Perhaps, Draculaura is right. Maybe they using tunnel already."

"I don't think they know yet." Billy appeared in front of the crowd with a white towel around his waist and his soaked black and blue hair leaving a puddle on the stone floor. Everyone stared at him, mostly because he shocked them all when he appeared, but some of the ghouls were staring because he was only wearing a towel around his surprisingly chiseled blue body. Billy felt his cheeks burn. He went invisible once more.

"Don't be ashamed. We not mind staring a your hunky body." Abbey giggled. Heath, a bit jealous, nudged her.

"I've got a hunky body too!" He flexed in front of Abbey.

"Yes. You are hunky too. Now cool it. I want to hear Ivisi-hunk." Abbey laughed.

Remaining invisible, Billy replied. "It seemed like the ARM soldiers were going to mount a search and rescue mission using the same tunnel we did. I think if they knew about this other tunnel, then they would be using that instead."

"That makes sense, but you said 'seems,' so you're not sure?" Robecca asked. She had been listening to the entire conversation. Like her father, she liked to observe and analyze before taking action. She agreed with Billy. If the soldiers knew of this connecting tunnel, they would have exploited it by now.

"I could get sure." Billy reappeared.

"Wow…I mean… how?" Robecca inquired, embarrassed by her slip of admitted admiration of Billy's physique.

Billy blushed. He was madly in love with Scarah, but he had never received attention like that from another ghoul before. "I can go invisible and eavesdrop."

"This is good idea, but first you must be getting clothes." Abbey laughed.

Billy went invisible once more. "Okay, getting clothes and spying." Billy's voice trailed off.

"Okay. So we find this tunnel, but what's the next step?" Frankie asked. She couldn't bare the thought of anymore of her friends getting kidnapped. "We need to be scary thoughtful with our planning."

"I agree." Cleo announced. She stepped up onto an end table. "We'll need every monster in this room to play their part, including you, new ghouls." Cleo was pretty good at giving orders and intimidating others. That was like her super power in some ways.

"All well and good, mate, but for now we just wait." Lagoona pointed out.

"Everyone is on standby until further notice!" Cleo announced once more, and then stepped down off the table.

"I love how you boo, babe." Deuce kissed Cleo on the cheek. His head snakes did too.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Billy, now dressed in his hipster skater fashion, went invisible and headed right back into the tunnel through the ghouls room. He could still hear chatter from the tunnel, so he was careful to be quiet. Right away, he noticed that Headmistress Bloodgood was still standing in the tunnel with a soldier he did not recognize. He could hear that they were talking about the ghosts. The soldier seemed to be comforting her and assuring her that the ghost students would be just fine. He was explaining how the gas used by the MHAT worked.

Billy gently snuck closer and closer until he was standing right beside them. He was a bit nervous that the headmistress would catch him, but he managed to sneak right by them unnoticed. He figured that the general and some of the soldiers had likely gone on the search and rescue mission. All he would have to do is wait to see how they returned, but he had a feeling they left this tunnel and were going to return to this tunnel. After all, why would Bloodgood be waiting around?

Billy felt like he had been waiting hours listening to the worried prattling of the headmistress. In actuality it had only been about fifteen minutes when there was a rustle in the shrubs just outside the tunnel. Billy crossed his fingers that just maybe it would be Scarah. She was taking up most of his thoughts. It wasn't Scarah, but it was a mummy soldier of the ARM. He was carrying a very limp looking Twyla in his arms.

Billy could see that the soldier had some sort of glowing blue amulet that he was pressing to her forehead. Headmistress Bloodgood did not hesitate to approach the soldier. With worry written all over her face, she removed her head and wiped the tears that stained her cheeks.

"Will she be okay?" Bloodgood asked, placing her head back on her shoulders.

"This is the pendant of healing. It will restore her to good health. She just needs to rest." The mummy soldier replied. He handed Twyla off to the soldier who had been waiting with Bloodgood. "Take her to the infirmary with the other students and get some extra troops. There are some soldiers down."

Billy couldn't help but gasp out loud. If the soldiers were taken down, then what chance did they have? Then, he reminded himself of why he was down there. We have the tunnel, he thought. That would be their advantage. Now, they just had to find it.

Unseen and unheard, Billy snuck back up into the dorm tower. Instead of reappearing in front of Cleo and the others, he decided to talk to the others who had come on the scouting mission. They would understand the dangers better than the others. They would know the worth of returning to Scare Block 5.

Billy snuck into Toralei's dorm room because he noticed the door was open, and he could hear monsters talking inside. He saw Toralei sitting on her bed. She had the top bunk of the bunk bed. Below her, Purrsephone and Meowlody were lying down on their bed. Across from them, Pawl, Prowla, Howleen, and Clawdeen were all sitting on the couch.

"Do you think there is any way we can even defeat them?" Clawdeen asked the group.

"I'm not sure, but I feel like we have to." Prowla responded. "If we don't, what happens to our friends?"

"…And family…" Howleen faltered. She was majorly worried about her brother.

"I say we fight fire with fire. What's their weakness? Meeooww." Toralei licked her paw.

"The tunnel." Billy appeared in front of them.

"I thought I smelled someone else in hear." Clawdeen sniffed. "What about the tunnel?"

"I think their weakness is that secret tunnel." Billy suggested. "If we can sneak in through that tunnel, then that's how they'll be defeated."

"I don't know…" Pawl thought. "We were pretty sneaky this last time, and they were still ready."

"A distraction!" Purrsephone and Meowlody both jumped up from their bed.

"And this is why you ghouls are my beasties. They're right." Toralei purred. "If we send out a group to distract them at the wall, then the rest of us can sneak in, and that's how we'll win." Toralei grinned. This was the type of well-planned and sneaky revenge she lived for.

"I'm not tryin' to be miss goody-two-boos, but don't ya think we should let the professional soldiers handle it?" Clawdeen wondered.

"Normally, Clawdeen, I would be right there with you, but these are our friends. I feel like we need to do this." Prowla said. She was normally very shy with ghouls she didn't know, but things were different at Monster High. Things were different now. She felt like she couldn't keep quiet.

"I think I know how we can actually use the ARM soldiers to help us with our plan." Billy said.

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then I think that just might work." Pawl nodded.

Out in the game room, most of the monsters were still gathered together around SloMo keeping up with the latest news from Ghoulia. A few other monsters had joined in the conversation as well. It was clearly not the ideal time to be at Monster High, but there were many students there at the moment due the monster exchange program and visiting artists program. But they all felt pride in their school and knew there was no question that they needed to help their fellow monsters.

Everyone seemed to be in the middle of conversations when Billy and the others entered the game room. All the talking stopped and many of the monsters were staring at them. Draculaura immediately jumped up and skipped toward Clawdeen. She couldn't contain her happiness.

"Clawd is fine!" Draculaura gushed. "Ghoulia just told us! They are all near each other."

"She said they're actually being treated well by those nasty humans." Cleo added.

"Ghoulia thinks they're scientists. She thinks they're observing them right now." Frankie said.

"Uuuugghhh oooo." SloMo chuckled.

"SloMo says they can't be doing a very good job observing if Ghoulia is managing to sneak in all this texting time." Gil laughed.

"Scarah is fine too, Billy." Iris Clops smiled. The little green Cyclops ghoul was very close to Scarah and Billy.

Billy thanked her and with that news, he was able to breathe normally once again.

"We should really let you know that everyone is fine." Neighthan announced. "Twyla is the only one Ghoulia said she hasn't seen."

"Oh no!" Howleen clapped her paws over her mouth.

"Wait," Billy said. "She's here. I forgot to tell you. The soldiers recued her. I saw them bring her in. She's in the infirmary with the ghosts."

Howleen wacked Billy's arm wishing he had told her before she began panicking.

"So what is news on tunnel?" Abbey asked.

"It might be the only way we'll win." Clawdeen answered. "But it's gotta be well-planned or we're all gonna end up in a cell block."

"And we need to use the ARM to our advantage." Added Pawl.

"But how?" Cleo wondered. "If we they know anything about our plan, there's no way they'll let us go through with it."

"We don't tell them about our plan, princess. We make them think it's their plan." Toralei meowed as she took a seat near Cleo. Cleo and Toralei frequently bickered to be the center of attention.

"What you meaning, kitty cat?" Abbey asked.

"What she means is that for us to be successful using the tunnel…" Prowla began, but then got interrupted by an excited monster.

"Brilliant!" Robecca shouted. "We need the ARM soldiers to distract the MHAT men at the wall so we can all come in through the tunnel!"

"I see." Rochelle nodded. "If zee soldier are at zee wall, then they will not be at zee tunnel entrance."

"Just like Ghoulia said!" Venus smiled. "She knew when the others were at the wall because all the men were running out. That would leave almost no one to protect the inside."

"Dudes, how are we going to get the ARM soldiers to do anything we say?" Deuce was a little confused. Those soldiers were not going to have anything to do with high school monsters.

"I think you may be missing the craft of this plan. We will not actually be planning to use the ARM soldiers, rather, we will be using them to plan." Jinafire tried to explain, but she knew sometimes her explanations were not clear enough for the mansters of Monster High.

"I think what she means is leave it to us." Hera Glyphyx smirked from her seat next to some of the daughters of the soldiers.

"All we have to do is find out when our dads plan to go to the wall, then we'll know when to go through the tunnel." Sammy said.

"Makes sense. Y'all gather the information. We plan our sneak attack. I'm lovin' this plan!" Operetta cheered.

"That means we need to come up with a plan that won't fail. Everyone will have a job." Cleo announced.

"Some of us will need to be offense." Pawl suggested.

"Some of us will need to find and free our friends." Draculaura added.

"All of us will need to play a part." Frankie insisted.

"SloMo, ask Ghoulia how we can open the cells." Gil commanded.

SloMo nodded. The plan was underway.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It had been decided. All the ghouls and mansters were going to work together to save their friends. Many were excited about the plan, most were nervous, and others were scared. It was fear of the unknown that truly bothered the monsters. What if they weren't successful? What happens if they all end up trapped by the monster hunters? These questions ran through many minds, including Cleo's, but she had to remain the steadfast leader. After all, they were all looking to her for guidance, weren't they?

Cleo excused herself to go to the dorm room that had been assigned to her. A few of the ghouls took notice, but they figured she was going to the bathroom. Deuce, however, watched her very closely. He could see in her eyes that there was something bothering her. Cleo often kept emotions buried inside, but she didn't realize that Deuce could always see her true feelings.

The dorm room was quite plain. Cleo had not had a chance to touch it up. As soon as the mummy princess entered the room, she fell limp on one of the bare white beds. Tears fell from her eyes to be absorbed by the linen of the bed. She was crying for her sister and her friends. Cleo knew there was a possibility of failure. She knew that the consequences could be serious. Her sister may be treated well now, but who knows what the next step could be for these men? Wouldn't they love to just unravel and dissect her sister or prod at Ghoulia's brain? Frankie popped into her head. She imagined how those men would tear Frankie seam by seam if they got a hold of her.

"Cleo," came a deep voice hard to resist. "Can I come in?" Deuce asked.

"Mhm," Cleo agreed, though the mattress muffled her response.

"Cleo, you know we don't have to do this." Deuce reminded her as he took a seat next to her on the bed. "We could just tell the soldiers about the tunnel and let them handle it." He rubbed her back.

"While we sit around and do nothing?" Cleo turned to face Deuce, her mascara running down her cheeks.

"We wouldn't be doing _nothing_. We would have given the soldiers the information they need to save Ghoulia and Nefera…and all the others." Deuce's voice was calm. He knew that there were two directions they could follow. He honestly did not see the sense in risking any more friends to these monster hunters.

"Are you trying to talk me out of this plan?" Cleo asked as she sat up.

"I think you're trying to talk yourself out of it." Deuce wrapped his arm around her.

"I think it could be dangerous…" Cleo sniffed. "But I think it might be the only way we can save them. It seems like the risk might be worth the reward in this case. What do you think?" She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I think we have a good plan. If my cousin Annie and her friends come through with what we need, then I have faith in this plan." Deuce kissed Cleo on the top of her forehead.

"Deucey…you'll be on the offensive team…that worries me." Cleo looked up into his eyes, which she could just make out through his shades.

"You just being there has me worried." Deuce replied kissing Cleo's lips. "We're in this together."

In every dorm room there was a bathroom with a toilet and vanity. Cleo got up and cleaned herself off. She reapplied her makeup using the mirror, and headed back out to the game room hand in hand with Deuce. Heath Burns came running toward the couple with a goofy grin.

"Dude! Aren't you pumped to nail those monster hunters for taking our friends? We'll show those lame-os what it means to mess with a monster!" Heath blurted.

Cleo rolled her eyes. "This isn't a video game."

"Dude, Cleo's right. This is serious. We should talk strategy, serious strategy." Deuce replied. He kissed Cleo on the cheek and walked away with Heath. They walked over to a group of monsters huddled around Abbey Bominable. Abbey was in the middle of discussing part of the offensive strategy.

"Nice of you to be joining us." Abbey acknowledged the two mansters. "As I saying, we come through tunnel, Gorgons and me attacking first. I freeze and Gorgons looking them in the eyes. This is quick solution."

"What if they have weapons to use against us?" Viperine asked, the pink snakes of her hair nodded in agreement with the question.

"That's why I'm on the offensive team." Neighthan smiled. "If you all stick nearby, then I can heal you." Neighthan's power was fitting of his personality. He was kind, gentle, and compassionate like both of his parents. He was able to heal minor wounds on contact, but recently, he has been working with some of the other more magical students at Monster High in the Magic and Booyond class to strengthen his power. He was confident of his abilities, but not of his grace. Neighthan was not exactly agile.

"That's if you don't trip first, HA!" Heath laughed and high-fived Manny Taur who had been standing right next to him.

"Rude, dudes." Deuce crossed his arms and looked over at Neighthan. "You'll be just fine. I know we're all glad to have you at our side."

Neighthan felt himself blush. "Thanks, Deuce," he said as he scratched his head.

"So…Let me get this straight. The Gorgons and Abbey will be the first ones out?" Casta Fierce clarified. She was one of the visiting artists at Monster High. Monster High had recently formed a partnership with Monster Academy, a prestigious university known for producing the best and brightest monsters in the arts, sciences, and education. The partnership was based on the collaboration with academy students and high school students. Casta had been instructing a vocal and instrumental course at Monster High. She was also the personal magic tutor for some students.

"Yes. Something is wrong with this plan?" Abbey raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Don't you think it would make sense for Hexia and me to go first. We could disable them with our magic." Casta argued.

"Your magic too…" Abbey searched for the right word. "Unreliable." Many of the others nodded. It was true, Casta had to admit. Often, if she did not concentrate hard enough, her potent magic would occasionally do more harm then good. Hexia often ran into the same problem. They were both still learning, and although their magic was powerful, it could be unpredictable. They were better off being backup. At least Abbey and the Gorgons could only really cause one thing to happen, and they had pretty good control over that.

"You're right." Casta and Hexia nodded together. "We probably shouldn't be the first ones out, but we will definitely have your back."

"Speaking of unreliable," Venus interjected. "Do you really think Heath and Manny should be coming out first?"

"Well, yeah, like of course!" Heath exclaimed. "We are _sooo_ reliable."

"Please," Operetta sneered. "Y'all are less reliable than a jalopy in quicksand. They shouldn't even be the backup for the backup." Operetta giggled with Venus. After Abbey and the Gorgons began the offensive maneuvers, Operetta, Venus, Casta, and Hexia were supposed to back them up.

"Jinafire, you keeping Heath with you?" Abbey asked the golden dragon ghoul.

"I will try my best, but often times the worst disasters are those that are unpredictable." Jinafire replied. She was not thrilled about being Heath and Manny's babysitter, but she knew someone had to keep an eye on them. But Jinafire was intimidating, even to the boys. She was a little more annoyed that Amanita was also joining her group. Luckily, her one saving grace was Posea Reef. Posea was also a visiting instructor from Monster Academy. She was training to be an undersea teacher. It seemed to be her calling.

"Don't worry, Jinafire. I will certainly help you, even if it means wrapping these buggers in seaweed for a while." Posea smirked.

Jinafire giggled.

"Then we know the plan?" Abbey asked.

"Allow me." Posea stood up. "Abbey, Deuce, Viperine, and Annie will enter the prison first. They will hopefully subdue the monster hunters without hurting them. Neighthan, followed by Operetta, Venus, Casta, and Hexia will then spring into action. We hope Neighthan won't be needed. Then it will be Jinafire, Amanita, Heath, Manny, and myself to the rescue. We will make up the offensive team?"

"A…Abb…Abbey." A shy voice came from outside the group. "I think I could help." A blue ghoul practically whispered.

"Speak up." Abbey urged.

"It's Gail." Annie Conda got up to support her painfully shy friend.

"I'm like you, Abbey." Gail said faintly.

"I am doubting that. Abbey is loud like mighty yak. You are quiet like puny mouse." Abbey chuckled along with some of the others.

Gail shook her head. "No, not like that." Gail held up her hand and a beam of ice shot out and hit a nearby lamp, freezing it instantly. "Like that."

"Good. You on offensive team." Abbey smiled. "About time I be having some ice company." Abbey laughed hard. "Get it? Ice company?" Of course no one laughed, some smiled. Their lack of humor didn't bother Abbey, though.

Gail smiled shyly and say down with Annie.


End file.
